“If I’m not dying, I better go live.” Christy Erickson’s cancer diagnosis led to life as a motorcyclist and strongman competitor

Christy Erickson was seven years old when her mom lost a three-year battle with breast cancer.

This is the fourth story in a series that marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of papers on the role of EGFR mutation in lung cancer. This multimedia series is guest-edited by Suresh S. Ramalingam, a lung cancer expert, executive director of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, and editor-in-chief of the journal Cancer. The series explores the process of discovery of EGFR mutations in lung cancer, the learning curve for using the drugs that target those mutations, and the unparalleled impact on patients with lung cancer and other diseases.

“Most of my memories of her are of her being in some form of treatment,” said Erickson, who is currently a stay-at-home mom of two teenagers in Macon, Georgia.

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McKenzie Prillaman

Reporter

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